Zurich – The MedTech firm Ava from Greater Zurich has developed a bracelet that monitors female fertility by determining fertile days. However, the same device can also be used for the early detection of coronavirus infections, as a study conducted in Liechtenstein has now shown.
The Zurich-based MedTech firm Ava has developed a sensory bracelet for women. It determines the wearer’s fertile days and therefore supports them in their efforts to conceive. During the night, the Ava bracelet measures physiological parameters such as temperature, breathing rate and heart rate, with the data it records then being evaluated by an algorithm.
As a recent study has now shown, the bracelet can also help with early detection of coronavirus infections. The study was initiated in April 2020 by the Liechtenstein-based Dr. Risch Group and was carried out on 1,100 test subjects in the Principality. In 71 percent of cases, the bracelet signaled an infection two days before the appearance of initial symptoms.
“This is a real breakthrough in the early detection of Covid-19 infection and in the fight against the pandemic”, comments study director Dr. Lorenz Risch in the press release. Many people who contract Covid-19 only start to become symptomatic a handful of days later, meaning that the virus is transmitted unwittingly. Early detection is therefore a particularly crucial tool in the fight against coronavirus.
According to information in the press release, the study was mainly financed by the Princely House of Liechtenstein and the Liechtenstein government. Following the convincing results, a major trial funded by the European Union involving more than 20,000 people in the Netherlands is set to follow. A consortium that includes both the Dr. Risch Group and the Dutch subsidiary of the Basel-based pharma giant Roche will be involved in this project.
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